Recent viewings

[lester1/2jr]

Bronx Warriors was the one that was a rip off of the Warriors wasn't it? that was awesome!

[Rev. Powell]

RUBIN AND ED (1991): Ed, a horrible but devoted salesman in a cult-like real estate sales "Organization," agrees to help shut-in Rubin bury his dead cat in hopes of getting him to attend a recruiting seminar. Howard Hessman and Crispin Glover are great in this sharply-written, sadly-overlooked comedy gem. 4/5.

[Javakoala]

HEY!!!!
Do NOT blaspheme the greatest film of all time in my presence!!!

I didn't. I swear, I would NEVER say anything bad about BIO-DOME. I didn't even mention it!

[indianasmith]

One other thing about THE HUNGOVER GAMES - there was a cameo appearance by President Snow-bama.
He looks more like Obama than the guy who spoofs him on SNL!  I really didn't expect much out of this movie
and wound up enjoying it more than I thought I would.

[Javakoala]

2LDK (2003)

An insanely twisted film about two women who share an apartment, and they both are contenders for the lead role in a major movie. What starts out as simple nasty thoughts in their heads quickly degenerates into an all-out war, all in one night.

Great acting, solid writing, and quirky camera work take this film to a different level. It will most likely leave you cringing while giggling. Worth giving a spin even if you don't normally care for foreign language (subtitled) films.

Suck (2009)

This is a story of a second-rate Canadian bar band who crosses paths with a vampire. One thing leads to another, and the band starts attracting attention as the band members start changing.

Loaded with humor and rock stars in very funny roles (Alice Cooper, Iggie Pop, Henry Rollins, Alex Lifeson) with Dave Foley and Malcolm McDowell adding nice touches. Definitely worth watching. Hell, I ordered the movie after watching it because I know I'll watch it a few more times.

[indianasmith]

ZOMBEX (2013) - Yeesh, what a mess.  Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, a pharmaceutical company has been distributing a new anti-depressant that is turning people into flesh-munchers, and only a washed-up musician and an underground radio talk show host know what's going on.  They set out for Texas along with two female mercenaries who were hired by the company to clean up the mess, in search of a cure that is being developed at UT.  Along the way they stop for the night at a bar run by the musician's friend (for the sole purpose of showing them getting drunk, dancing, and the two girls having lesbian sex), then set out again the next day.  When the survivors of the group arrive in Texas, they find things aren't as clear cut as they thought.
  OK, this is really pretty sad.  Malcolm MacDowell, Corey Feldman, Sid Haig, and Kinky Friedman pretty much prove what has-beens they are by even appearing in such a piece of dreck.  Haig's General's uniform has a Master Sergeant's stripe on the sleeves, but that is the least thing wrong with this moderately amusing train wreck of a movie.  Rent it so you can laugh at it, then never rent it again!  2/5

[JaseSF]

The Seventh Sign (1988): a pregnant woman named Abby Quinn (Demi Moore) comes to believe signs of an impending apocalypse with ties to her unborn child is unfolding especially after meeting a mysterious stranger named David (Jürgen Prochnow). Is she going a bit around the bend due to her sketchy past with pregnancy or could it all somehow be horribly real?

This supernatural mystery thriller has some good moments here and there. Moore is quite good in the lead and supporting players Prochnow, Michael Biehn, and Peter Friedman all get some time to shine. Still this slowly unfolding mystery does drag on  a bit too long, is never quite as horrific as it perhaps should have been despite some terrifying imagery, doesn't quite play up the different possible explanations enough, and proves a tad too predictable on a number of occasions. Still it wasn't too bad of its type. Best moments come from the hail storm to the end and the segment inside the church. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Fright Night (1985): Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is a teenage boy with an healthy love of classic horror movies and his gal Amy (Amanda Bearse) finds his life turned upside down when he discovers his next door neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon) just might be a vampire. Fearing for his life and with no one believing his story, he turns to iconic horror actor/horror host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) known for his movies as a vampire killer but whose career has taken a nosedive in the wrong direction.

Fright Night is so much fun to watch. I just love this movie. It's liking taking a classic horror star and actually really pitting him paired with a teenage horror fan up against a real vampire. There's something so appealing in that idea. Throw in lots of humor, charm, creepy gooey 80s FX, effective make-up, some genuine scares, some unexpected twists and turns and well this is a winner. Reminds me on some levels of An American Werewolf in London but of course has its own unique flavor. Just a really enjoyable escapist 80s horror film with some great comedy and horror thrills combined. ****1/2 out of ***** stars.

[dean]

Another Earth:

Simple tale about a duplicate Earth that suddenly appears in the sky.  It doesn't become too much of the focus though, as the story centres more around a girl, Rhoda, who killed most of a young family in a car accident four years earlier and makes contact with the only surviving member, the husband.  Mainly dealing with loss and the possibilities that things are different on "Earth 2".  I enjoyed it overall, though there was a strange overuse of camera zoom which bugged me a little.  Not a bad effort but I must admit I heard alot of good things so maybe I was left a little colder after having a bit too much hype.  Still for a budget of $100,000 this was a pretty decent indie gem...

[lester1/2jr]

Another Earth is the kind of sci fi movie whose premise is so far out there you see it as a story element in and of itself, rather than something that's supposed to be realistic. Elevator Movie which Rev and I have both seen is like that. People get stuck in an elevator and the whole thing with them going to the bathroom or eating is just not explored, thought it's more of a comedy.

[indianasmith]

THE RAGE (2008) - There has been a disturbing lack of new horror releases at Hastings lately, so I was reduced down to the 49 cent shelves looking for something I hadn't seen before and wound up with this movie.  Turns out I had seen it before a few years back - it's a delightful gore-fest featuring Erin Brown in her post-Misty Mundae, remaining-clothed era.  Basically, a mad scientist has created a vaccine that produces genetic mutations and uncontrollable bloodlust in his patients, which can be transmitted by a bite. One of his subjects escapes and attacks a group of kids at a rock concert, as well as an older man and two children that are out fishing.  A bunch of vultures get infected, too, and you've got huge, silly-looking mutant birds flying everywhere.  All in all, this one was pretty fun, even if I had seen it before.

[Rev. Powell]

VIKINGDOM (2013): A medieval Viking king who's been raised from the dead goes on a quest to defeat Carrot Top Thor, who wants to destroy Earth because he's p**sed about the rise of Christianity. The stupid name befits this way-overlong adventure with too much CGI plays like a poorly-written episode of a TV pilot that never got picked up ("Thor: The Legendary Journeys"). A generous 2/5, though I admit I might have found this pretty cool as a kid.

[Trevor]

HEY!!!!
Do NOT blaspheme the greatest film of all time in my presence!!!

I didn't. I swear, I would NEVER say anything bad about BIO-DOME. I didn't even mention it!

People might actually want to hit me for saying this, but I liked Biodome, although what Kylie Minogue was doing in it, beats the hell out of me. 

[JaseSF]

The Werewolf of Washington (1973): Jack Whittier (Dean Stockwell) is a news correspondent who takes a job in Budapest following an affair with the President (Biff McGuire)'s daughter Marion (Jane House). However upon receiving an offer to return to the United States as the President's press assistant, he decides to return home. Unfortunately for him along the way he runs into a werewolf and gets bitten. Not long after, the bodies of socialites start piling up in Washington, D.C.

Where do I start with this howler? Anyways this thing is totally bizarre and sometimes seems to teeter on the edge of the surreal. The best thing about the film is the atmosphere achieved in some scenes. I liked some of the odd angle shots where we see things in mirrors or through glass, also some of the suspenseful shots of women in distress. The story is so weirdly disjointed thus making for a rather odd, almost dreamlike viewing experience. They did seem to be going for a level of political satire with this thing as it related to the U.S. government in the 1970s, the Cold War, fear of change, and that perhaps even the President and others in charge may not be at all the same as the image they portray to the public (wolves in sheep's clothing). Stockwell gives an over-the-top hyper performance as Whittier, the man under a werewolf curse.  There's so much here that will have viewers going "What the f*ck? Did he really just say that? Did we really just see that?" Apparently this werewolf has the unexpected ability of teleportation because we see him locked in a room or just leaving somewhere in one scene and the next he's somewhere completely different?! This werewolf also likes to bark and pant like a dog and honestly at times reminds me of a demented, horny, angry, hairy dwarf given he's much shorter than most of the other characters in the film including the women Whittier dates. The makeup wasn't bad of its type but obviously was more effective in the 1930s than the 1970s. Some characters just appear briefly in the film before mysteriously disappearing out of the story. Particularly weird is the Dr. Kiss (Michael Dunn), a dwarfish mad doctor apparently conducting secret experiments in the White House basement which looks strangely like a factory. There's also the disturbingly weird aspect of numerous bathroom scenes interspersed throughout the film, even one scene begins from the perspective of within a toilet, often with two male characters going to the bathroom together?! (in some cases even in the same stall?!). The dialogue is frequently laughable and nonsensical but this is a potential bad movie classic. Actually much better enjoyed in the Elvira's Movie Macabre version but definitely ripe for riffing on its own. ***1/2 out of ***** stars on a bad movie scale, for everyone else it's probably ** out of ***** stars.

[Rev. Powell]

ALL THAT JAZZ (1979): A pill-popping, womanizing, workaholic choreographer's hard living leads to a heart attack. Bob Fosse's semi-autobiographical character study is almost a musical for people who hate musicals; there aren't many production numbers until the anesthesia produces wonderfully surreal show/heart-stoppers at the end. 4/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Arctic Predator" (2010) Former "Superman" Dean Cain stars in an entertainingly silly SyFy ripoff of "The Thing." A group of Polar explorers uncover a 19th century shipwreck frozen beneath the ice, which turns out to have a lethal otherworldly stowaway aboard. Hilarity, naturally, ensues.